Sewing-machine.



E. J. RAY.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19. 1914.

Patented Oct 24, 1916.

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SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 19, I914.

Patented OH. 24-, 1916.

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EUGENE J'. RAY, 0E BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOEMACHINERY CUMPANY, 01E PATTERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 015 NEWJERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

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Patented Hot. 2d, llHllfi.

Application filed September 19, 1914. Serial No. 862,489.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, EUGENE J. RAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machines;and I do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to sewing machines, and more particularlyto buttonhole sewing or similar machines in which the sewing mechanismoperates to form overseam stitches.

Buttonhole sewing machines have heretofore been Provided with means forholding or severing and holdin the needle thread, and in the patent toinn, No. 1,094,896, dated April 28, 1914:, is disclosed a device of thischaracter by which the needle thread is held in such a position at thebeginning of the sewing operation that the waste end of thread extendingfrom the initial stitch is .covered by the overseam stitches.

The device of the Hill patent has been found to be generallysatisfactory in operation, but upon certain kinds of goods, such as thecloth which is sometimes used in the uppers of shoes, the waste end ofthread after it is released by the holding means becomes displaced sothat the end isinot sewed in with certainty but is sometimes leftprojecting more or less from the Work.

The object of the present invention is to provide a huttonhole sewing orother sewing machine which forms an overseam with improved means wherebythe waste end of the thread extending from the initial stitch of theseam will be sewed in completely and with certainty upon all classes offabrics which may be operated upon by the machine.

The invention is intended primarily as an improvement upon the devicesof the Hill patent above referred to, but it is to be understood thatthe invention is not limited to chine of a thread guiding fingerarranged to engage the thread and hold it close to the surface of thework at the beginning of the sewlng operation in such position that theloose end of thread will be held and guided so as to be completelycovered by the overseam stitches. In applying the invention to a machineprovided with thread holding devlces, such, for instance, as thatdisclosed in the Hill patent above referred to, th) thread guidingfinger is preferably arranged to engage the thread between the holdingdevice and the sewing point, and holds the thread in close proximity to'the surface of the work and guides the loose end of thread after it isreleased by the holding device.

In the embodiment of the invention hereinafter specifically describedthe thread guidmg finger is mounted to move toward and from the work andis pressed yieldingly into contact with the work by a cam actuatedmechanism including a yielding connection.

To provide a simple compact and efficient construction in a machine inwhich the needle is rotated during the sewing operation, the mechanismfor actuating the thread guiding finger in the illustrated embodiment ofthe invention comprises a cam mounted on the rotating carrier of theneedle mechanism.

The several features of the present invention will be clearly understoodfrom an inspection of the accompanying drawings in which the preferredembodiment of the invention is illustrated. as applied to the buttonholesewing machine disclosed in the patents to Hill Nos. 1,063,880, datedJune 3, 1913, and 1,094,896, dated April 28, 1914.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation showing somuch of the buttonhole sewing machine of the Hill patents as isnecessary to illustrate the embodiment of the invention therein. Fig. 2is a detail view in side elevation illustrating the thread guidingfinger and the mechanism for operating it, and also indicating therelative positions of the thread guiding finger, the upper sewing needleand the thread cutting and holding devices. Fig; 3 is a detail viewlooking from the right of Fig. 2, illustrating several of the partsshown in said figure. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the parts illustrated inFig. 2. Fig. 5 1s,a detail view in side elevation of certain of theparts illuslllltl same position as in Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is adiagrammatic plan view illustrating the position of the overseamstitches and the loose I end of thread with relation to the buttonholeat the beginning of the sewing operation.

In the machine illustrated in the drawings, the stitch forming mechanismcomprises an upper needle 2, eccentrically mounted in a verticallyreciprocating needle bar 4, an under needle 6, and a looper 8. The upperneedle bar and the under needle and looper are mounted in a rotary headand in a rotary turret which are rotated during the sewing about the endand eye of the buttonholes. The work is heldby clamps 10 pivotallymounted on plates 12 which are in turn mounted on a clamp carrier 14.The clamp carrier is moved longitudinally to bring the work intoregister with the cutter or with the sewing devices and to feed the workduring the sewing by a cam groove formed in the cam carrier 16 whichmakes one revolution for each cycle of the machine. The clamp carrier ismoved laterally and the stitch forming mechanism is rotated during thesewing through suitable connections from a carrier 18 which makes onerevolution during the sewing of the buttonhole. The cutter 20 isoperated through a cam on the carrier 16, and when operated to cut abuttonhole also operates to close the clamps 10 which are held closedduring the sewing by the latching devices indicated at 22. The clamp isreleased and opened during its return to cutting position by astationary cam 24, as fully described in Patent No. 1,063,880 abovereferred to.

At the completion of the sewing of the buttonhole the stitch formingmechanism is stopped with the upper and under needles in their retractedpositions. The upper needle thread is automatically severed between theupper side of the work and the needle and the free end of the needlethread is held at the rear of the sewing point in such position that atthe beginning of the next sewing operation the end of the thread will becovered by the overseam stitches. The thread severing and holdingdevices illustrated in the drawings are the same in construction andmode of operation as those fully illustrated and described in the patentto Hill hereinbefore referred to No. 1,094,896. These devices comprisetwo gripping jaws, one of which is indicated at 26, which first grip thethread and then carry it against a fixed cutter indicated at 30 whichcooperates with the under edge of the jaw 26 to sever the thread betweenthe jaws and the work. These devices are mounted in a support 32 formedat the lower end of a rod 34 which is mounted to slide vertically in abracket 36. The support 32 is arranged at the rear of the sewing pointand rests on one of the clamps 10 so as to rise and fall with the clamp.The jaw 26 is carried by a bar 50 fitting a bore in the support 32. Thisbar is actuated to open and close the gripping jaws by means of a spring54 and by cams 58 and 60 on the carrier 16 arranged to engage the lowerend of the lever 62, the upper end of which is connected with the bar bya link 64.

The position of the parts at the beginning of the sewing operation isindicated in Fig. 2, and the relation of the waste end of thread to thebuttonhole and to the first stitches of the seam is indicated in Fig. 7.The waste end of thread is held at the rear of the sewing point, and thefirst stitch is taken at the small end of the buttonhole, the upperneedle passing down through the work and the lower needle passing upthrough the buttonhole slot. During the first few stitches the sewingmechanism is rotated so that the stitches of the seam pass around theend of the buttonhole as indicated in Fig. 7. The waste end of threadleads from the sewing point to the thread grippers in such a directionthat the upper and lower needles pass on opposite sides of the thread sothat the thread is covered by the stitches. After the first stitcheshave been taken the waste end of thread is released by the grippingdevices, and, in order to insure the complete covering of the end of thethread by the overseam stitches, the thread guiding finger, constitutingthe preferred embodiment of the present invention, is provided. Thisfinger is indicated at 66 and comprises a bar provided with a flattenedforward end passing through a guiding pole ".in a guiding piece 68secured to the support 32, and provided at its lower end with a notch toengage the thread leading from the initial stitch to the thread holdinggrippers. At the beginning of the sewing operation the finger 66 is inretracted position, as illustrated in Fig. 2. As the sewing progresses,however, and before the waste end of thread is released by the grippingdevices, the finger is moved down into engagement with the work, asindicated in Fig. 5, thereby pressing the thread against the work sothat the thread is confined and guided by the notch at the lower end ofthe finger. After the finger 66 is in engagement with the waste end ofthread, the thread holding grippers release the thread and thereafterthe thread is guided by the thread finger until it is completely coveredby the overseam stitches. The finger 66 is then retracted to theposition indicated in Fig. 2.

To enable the finger 66 to be actuated, as above described, its rear endis clamped in the free end of a link 70 pivotally mounted v intoposition to be covered I guide the Waste end of needle thread into uponthe upper end of an arm 72 projecting from a pivot mounted in thesupport 32. The arm 72 is provided with a laterally extending lug 74which is engaged by the lower end of a lever 76 pivotally mounted uponthe bracket 36. A plunger 78, mounted in the-upper end of the bracket36, engages at its rear end with the upper end of the lever 76 and atits forward end is provided with a laterally extending head 80-which isarranged to be engaged by a cam 82 mounted on the rotary carrier of theupper needle. The cam 82 is so arranged that, during the formation ofthe first few stitches of the seam, and while the needle isbeing'rotated, the plunger 78 will be moved backwardly so as to bringthe guiding finger 66 into guiding position in contact with the work. Inorder to permit the finger 66 to be pressed yieldingly against the work,the plunger 78 is made of two-telescoping parts between which acompression spring 84 is interposed. When the plunger 78 is released bythe cam 82 the finger 66 is returned to the position indicated in Fig. 2by a spring 86.v

The nature and object of the present invention having been indicated,and the preferred embodiment of the invention having been specificallydescribed, what is claimed is 1. A sewing machine, having, incombination, stitch forming mechanism comprising a needle and devicescooperating therewith to form overseam stitches, and a thread guidingfinger arranged to engage the work and guide the waste end of needlethread by the overseam stitches.

2. A sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming mechanismcomprising a needle and devices cooperating therewith to form overseamstitches, a thread guiding finger arranged to engage the 'work andposition to be covered by the overseam stitches, and means for movingthe finger into and out of operative position, including means foryieldingly moving the finger toward the work. 7

3. A sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming devicesincluding a needle and devices cooperating therewith to form overseamstitches, means for holding the end of'the needle thread in position tobe covered by the overseam, and a thread guiding finger to engage thethread between said holding means and the sewing point.

4. A sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming mechanismincluding a needle and devices cooperating therewith to form overseamstitches, a thread holder arranged to hold the needle thread at the rearof the sewing point in position to be overstitched, means for actuatingthe holder to release the thread, and a finger to guide the thread afterit is released by the holder.

5. A sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming mechanismcomprising a rotary needle carrier, a needle and devices cooperatingtherewith to form overseam stitches, and a thread guiding fingeroperated by the rotation of the needle carrier to engage the work andguide the Waste end of thread into position to be covered by theoverseam stitches.

6. A sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming mechanismcomprising a rotary needle carrier, a needle and devices cooperatingtherewith to form overseam stitches, a thread guiding finger arranged toengage the work and guide the waste end of thread into position to becovered by the overseam stitches, and means for moving the finger intoand out of operative position including a cam on the needle carrier.

EUGENE J. RAY. Witnesses:

7 0. M. SINCERBEAUX, CHARLES E. GJRUSH.

